Richard Hardy is the man making moves at Little Bertha to create delicious vegan options for Melbourne cafes.
June 2025

It’s Vegan and It’s Delicious

“Imagine if you line up three of our cakes; one with the usual dairy and gluten, then a gluten free option and then a vegan product and do a blind taste-test. Nobody would be able to pick which is which. Take a look at our Pistachio Lemon Teacake for example. So many of our customers have been eating this cake for ages, and don’t find out until months later that it’s vegan. There’s just no way you would know.”

Richard Hardy is one of the founders of Little Bertha, and his words reflect the thrill he’s enjoyed to bring Little Bertha indulgence into the world of vegan. Or is he really bringing the joy of vegan into the world of Little Bertha? Both of these things can be true at the same time.

Richard’s world changed for the better when he met his wife, Pooja. She comes from Rajasthan in India and has followed a vegetarian diet her entire life. Her wisdom comes from the Jain tradition, where even root vegetables are seen as less than ideal. Ripping plants out of the soil is not quite the same as picking fruit off a tree. That gentler and kinder way of looking at our diet became hard to ignore.

“At that point it was just an education challenge.“

Richard’s journey to explore new ways to bake delicious treats had begun.

Most cafes don’t make a big deal about the vegan options. If you step up to a cake display you’re paying attention to what looks tasty, and not so much the little tag that flags gluten-free or vegan. We eat with our eyes first.

“It looks great. It tastes great. You don’t have to think about this as vegan. It’s just a really delicious lemon pistachio teacake, and it happens to be vegan.”

Richard would love to know the exact percentage of customers who consume vegan cakes and are actually vegan. He suggests it’s probably less than 50%. There are a lot of people out there who are getting into vegan, without them even knowing it. 

“I like to think it opens the door to trying other vegan food. You realise how good this is, maybe I’ll try a few other vegan options this week. It’s expanding horizons for people.“

Richard knows a lot of friends and family who have cut back on meat and dairy in their diet. It’s a simple way to improve your health, and it can be delicious. The world of vegan and vegetarian has changed so much in recent decades, as we get better educated on cooking techniques and access to better ingredients. There’s a world of plant based options available now.

Mexican food is a particular favourite to Richard and his family, and a frequent feature of evening meals.

“Mexican cuisine is really skilled when it comes to veg. They have so many great ways to ferment and cook vegetables to bring out the flavours. There’s a lot of ways to get your necessary dietary protein from veggies, and a lot ways to make it taste great.”

For some people it’s a health thing. For some it’s an ethical thing. For some it’s an environmental thing. People are driven by more than one factor. It all begins by simply giving people the option. If you have a choice between two lemon teacakes, and one of them happens to be vegan, then you’re potentially pleasing a wider audience.

“We’d love to see more people get on board with this. We’d love to see more people try the vegan options. It matters on a personal level for me. I don’t want to convince people to try vegan by telling them what to do, I’d rather show them how delicious it can be. Just give it a go!”

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